Ian Gow Memorial Cup 2018

We were delighted to sponsor the fourth annual Ian Gow Memorial Cup speaking competition, held yesterday in the Birley Centre at Eastbourne College.

Conservative Parliamentary candidate Caroline Ansell hosted the event, in honour of the late former Eastbourne MP Ian Gow. This year’s guest of honour was Lord Lucas, owner and chief editor of The Good Schools Guide. He is a former Lord in Waiting (a government whip in the House of Lords) and a former Shadow Lords Minister for International Development.

Six local schools took part, entering teams comprised of year 9 students. The contestants spoke on the subject of ‘Democracy – Our take on it’. This year’s winner was the Eastbourne Academy, which saw off strong competition from the other schools.

Event chairman, Gaby Hardwicke Partner Giles Robinson, commented: “The teams that compete in this event are getting stronger each year, learning from the previous competitions. All the competitors did extremely well and demonstrated the importance of not just speaking, but communicating – which requires a message to be received and understood. The schools were excited to be taking part last night and we are already looking forward to next year’s competition.”